In playing baseball, it is well known that players are constantly striving to define their pitching and hitting skills. On the one hand, a pitcher seeks to control the flight of a ball by developing proper wrist action while, on the other, a batter attempts to hit the hurled projectile regardless of which path it takes. Through continuous practice and exposure to curved projectiles, a hitter can build concentration and improve hand/eye coordination in order to improve hitting consistently.
Over the years, a myriad of aerial projectiles intended to provide somewhat predictable flight paths have been developed for various amusement purposes. Many of these devices are hollow, generally cylindrical in shape and are dependent upon entry of air into their interior during flight to impart the desired motion. Examples of such recent devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,151,674 issued to Klahn et al. on May 1, 1979, 4,246,721 issued to Bowers on Jan. 27, 1981, and 4,390,148 issued to Cudmore on June 28, 1983. All of these devices are basically intended to be thrown and caught but have not been designed with the intent of providing a ball-like substitute which may be used as a training tool to hone batting skills.
If one further considers the age old game of stickball wherein hitting a small ball-like object has been acknowledged in some circles to be a positive training technique useful in modern baseball, it can be appreciated that a relatively small or compact, durable projectile which also simulates the curved behavior of a regular baseball would be a desirable training implement.
One construction which embodies these general characteristics is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,683,603 issued to Gackenbach on July 13, 1954. In this projectile, a generally hollow, cylindrical member is provided with a series of helical grooves in order to simulate baseball curves While this design provides certain desirable flight performance, it must depend upon a peculiar warping of its axis, an eccentric weighting, and the combined airflow on both the inside and outside cylindrical surfaces
From the foregoing, it can be seen that various attempts have been made by the prior art to provide aerial projectiles capable of varying aerodynamic behavior. However, most of the recent innovations by sporting goods manufacturers and distributors have appeared to overlook the need for an aerial projectile which may be more easily thrown than a regular baseball and utilized to improve batting proficiency.